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24 Patient Reviews

Showing 1 - 12 reviews

1.0 of 5

August 21st, 2016

stay away!

This guy is the last person you want to entrust to your care. He is an abusive; passive aggressive sociopath who would rather beat down your self esteem so as to make himself feel better. One of worst, most dysfunctional human beings I have met!

In the beginning,, and on some occasions, Dr Straus seemed to be a caring doctor. He had ideas about my problems, but unfortunately they were inaccurate, and led to a misdiagnosis the use of medications that made me feel awful. He blamed me for not getting better, and when I called off hours for an emergency (suicidal thoughts) he was not kind at all. He thinks he knows everything about other areas of medicine, which he does, but not to the degree he thinks he does. Even when I reported side effects to medications, he did not believe me. I took myself off the medication in question--and the symptom went away. I left him after a little over a year, and told him about the medication side effect--and he seemed to not be at all interested, even though this is the kind of thing that should be reported to the FDA. Also is very temperamental, and clearly has anger and mood problems of his own. Thank goodness I finally found a caring, well trained doctor who treats me like a human being, and has helped me get WELL. When I told him my (medication) history His first words were, "I don't think you have received good care" . I didn't. He might be fine for very simple problems, but if you are at all a sensitive person---STAY AWAY!

Even though the waiting time is longer with Dr. Straws than w/other psychiatrists, it was definitely worth it. He is one of the best when it comes to diagnosis and treatment. He spent very fair amount with me in his office and didn't seem in rush to see the next patient, like all other do! I would definitely recommend him to others and continue seeing him.

I felt the individuals in the office staff did not have the people skills to be interacting with anyone. I perceived them as smug, arrogant,paranoid, and entitled to an an attitude of amused hostility -- perhaps because they are dealing with "psychiatric patients;" that is only my conjecture. By Dr. Straus himself I felt belittled -- he cut me off in the first few seconds of our conversation in a way I was raised to find most declasse and unprofessional -- not to mention just plain unkind. It was the prelude to what I perceived and can only describe as a tirade of condescension that continued right to the bitter end. I felt he looked at me a total of perhaps three minutes in an hour session and spent the rest of the time with his nose in the air typing on the computer asking if I had taken this medication or another. I would tell a friend to avoid this place and doctor like the plague. And I would ask the person who came up with the slogan "Excellence is all around you" if they've encountered people who treat people like this!

This doctor was my doctor for a long time. He not only misdiagnosed but also prescribed unwarranted drugs (since confirmed by several other certified highly reputable experts). He likes to diagnose MEDICAL conditions well outside his area of practice that he is not qualified to diagnose (also confirmed by other docs). At first he talked a big talk, but over time he became over-controlling and had difficulty regulating his mood - prompting me to get second and third opinions.

I have difficulties taking medications. I get all the side effects. I was referred by my doctor to Dr Straus because I was not responding to prescribed medications. Immediately, he prescribed a different medication, and my world became so much better. I have been seeing him about once every six weeks for the past 10 years. He has made a significant difference in my life. I would follow him anywhere for his expertise with medications.
While I was waiting to see Dr Straus, another patient in the waiting room told me that I was lucky. In the absence of her therapist, she saw Dr Straus. She said that he changed her medications and she was doing so much better!!

Dr. Straus is very focused on problem-solving, a trait I appreciate in a therapist (and haven't always found). His knowledge of other specialties of medicine is impressive and in the three years I've seen him, he has more often initiated changes in medication than my primary care physician or neurologist (I have MS). The downside is that he takes calls during sessions and usually keeps me waiting at least 25 minutes and as long as an hour. He needs to get some time management skills and allow someone to screen his calls while he's with a patient,so that he only takes the true emergencies (psychotic episode requiring hospitalization), not those appropriately returned when he is not with a patient ("no, I'm not taking new patients... with your situation, I recommend Dr. X in this practice")

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